Thermomix Welsh Rarebit

When I was a kid, I recall going to the supermarket and coming across a range of plastic cheese that was designed to lay on a piece of toast and melt under a grill. There was at least three flavours of this insta-cheese toasties and one of them was Welsh Rarebit. Unsure of the implications of eating something from Wales (or sounded like rabbit), I selected the pizza flavoured cheese slices to be on the safe side. Hey, I was only nine or so.

Eventually I threw a pack of the Welsh rarebit flavoured slices into the shopping trolley but I recall being rather underwhelmed by it. I had no idea what it was supposed to taste like after all. Before I could decide if I liked it enough to buy another pack, the line was discontinued.

I never gave Welsh rarebit another thought until I visited England for the first time and noted that it featured fairly frequently in pub menus. I gave it a try for lunch once while knocking a few back at a Brighton pub and loved it. I still had no idea whatsoever what was in it, but this serving of the Welsh rarebit thingy was amazingly good. It was also on the high tea menu at Fortnum and Mason in London so hubby and I didn’t hesitate having it again there. Needless to say, their version of Welsh rarebit rocked.

It wasn’t until some time later back home that I finally worked out what actually comprised Welsh rarebit. Hubby had a hankering for it so I googled it up. Obviously, cheese is a main ingredient but what else goes in varies from recipe to recipe. Worcestershire sauce and stout are the most common inclusions, but the rest of the ingredients can be any combination of cayenne pepper, hot sauce, sour cream, double cream, English mustard, dijon mustard and who knows what else. You can also choose between grilling the mixture on slices of bread, or simply serving it poured hot over bread.

As with any recipe that has its origins in ye olde worlde, there seems to be no sacred rule to follow with Welsh rarebit so I chose to concoct my own based on a few other recipes (primarily Alton Brown’s). The first few times I made it, it was over the stove and it’s not hard to do that way. However, now that I have my beloved Thermomix, it’s even easier to cook up. I’m including the Thermomix recipe below.

To make: Place butter and flour in TMX bowl and cook on 90C, Speed 1 for 2 1/2 minutes, taking care to not to brown the flour. Add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and paprika into mixture and blend on Speed 3 for 5 seconds. Add stout and sour cream, and blend on Speed 3 for another 5 seconds or until mixture is smooth. On 60C and Speed 1, gradually add cheese and stir for 4 to 5 minutes until all blended and smooth. You can either pour the mixture straight onto your toast and serve immediately, or place the toasted bread with mixture on top under a hot grill and leave until top of mixture is slightly browned.

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6 Comments

OMG – I have been wanting to make rarebit in my Thermomix since the very day it arrived — but somehow two years have passed and … THANK YOU Moni, for this easy peasy perfect recipe! I can taste it already! Have I mentioned that Welsh Rarebit is an absolute favorite of mine?! And it just so happens to be perfect for Thermomix ;-)

Yay! :) I hadn’t made it for a while then I looked at the recipe instructions and realised it’s made for the TMX :) It’s really easy so you can play around with flavours and tinker to your liking. I never enjoyed the process over cooktop!

Welsh rarebit (or ‘rabbit’) was to be found everywhere when I was growing up in England the 1950s. Of course, we didn’t have fancy things like dijon mustard. Everyday English mustard was used, and I still prefer to use English for the bite it gives. One of the pleasures is making a whole heap of rarebit in one session. It stores so well in a cling-filmed bowl in the fridge, just ready for a toasty snack at any time of day or night. For an extra lunchtime treat, try Buck Rarebit – a grilled slice of Welsh rarebit but with a poached egg sitting on top.

Thanks for that :) I can’t wait for the colder months to come as Welsh rarebit has a nice comfort food factor. I did read somewhere that you can put an egg on it too so thanks for the reference. I wil be trying that :)

Gastromony literally means 'lead by the stomach' which seems pretty apt for a food blog but mostly it's a play on the word gastronomy and my nickname Moni. I like to call this blog an adventure in cooking and the Thermomix, or gastronomy by Moni :)